Technology Briefing | Internet: Studios Sue Over Net Film Sharing

Published: February 11, 2005

Hollywood's major movie studios filed a second round of lawsuits yesterday against computer network operators who use a relatively new technology that allows people to share films and TV shows on the Internet without permission. The suits, filed by the Motion Picture Association of America, were filed in jurisdictions across the United States, but a spokeswoman for the association declined to give an exact number. The action was taken against computer networks that use peer-to-peer software, known as BitTorrent and eDonkey, that allow computer users to swap digital files of movies and TV shows that, in some cases, have been copied illegally. In mid-December, the film group filed a first round of suits against defendants in Austria, France, the Netherlands and Finland. Hollywood studios assert sales of illegally copied videos and DVD's cost them more than $3.5 billion annually in lost revenue.